Rebirth through Death
by moose007
Summary: Naruto falls after his battle with Sasuke. Believed dead several people change. In a sense the Naruto we know is dead, just not physically . He now has more criteria if you are considered to be precious.
1. Ch 1 The end of a brotherhood

**Hey everyone this is my first fanfic, so fell free to flame. I'll take it as constructive criticism. Anyways feel free to review.**

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Pakkun raced through the forest with Kakashi tailing behind him at breakneck speeds. Pakkun had become close to the boy after the mission in the waves. Pakkun wanted to help him become strong so he could fulfill his dream of being Hokage.

"How close are we?" Kakashi questioned his summons.

"We'll be there in about five minutes." Pakkun shouted back to Kakashi. Suddenly, Pakkun ears and eyelids seemed to cringe. Kakashi couldn't blame him. He knew his friend was much more sensitive to chakra spikes and this one scared the seasoned jōnin.

"Let's pick up the pace." Kakashi shouted to Pakkun. Pakkun nodded and sped up even more. The two burst out of the trees and skidded to a hault. Kakashi was in awe as he observed the battle field. The Valley of the End was a testament to the battle between Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. If he hadn't been occupied searching for his students Kakashi might have had a dark chuckle at the irony of the situation. The Valley had been scarred and burned from the recent battle that had taken place.

Kakashi scanned what appeared to be the largest bit of destruction. The feet of the statues had all but been obliterated. Figuring that was from Naruto's and Sasuke's final clash he decided to scan the river.

His efforts did not go unrewarded as he soon spotted the unconscious Uchiha drifting in the water. He approached and hoisted the boy onto his shoulder. Kakashi jumped back to the shore and did a once over of the boy. It was amazing the boy was alive. He had a punctured lung and several broken bones. Kakashi noticed something grasped in his hands. Kakashi liberated it and suddenly wished he hadn't. It was a Hitai Ite. The normally blue fabric was closer to purple as it was blood soaked. Kakashi knew that neither the Hitai Ite nor the blood belonged to Sasuke. Kakashi was now torn. He knew that the boy he had found was in need of immediate medical attention. He also knew if he didn't find Naruto soon he would die. Kakashi hated having to practice triage, but he gulped down his emotions and took off with Sasuke. He gulped again knowing that the Hokage was going to be rather moody with the news; Naruto Uzumaki had died retrieving the almighty Uchiha.

Kakashi prepared himself for the Hokage's anger as he approached the gates. As he walked through he was greated by an excited crowd. Already having troubles with his emotions he decided it would be best if he quickly entered the temporary medical that had been set up at the entrance to the village. Inside he was greeted by the parents of the relatively uninjured Sasuke Retrieval Team and a trio from Suna. Kakashi recognized the trio as the children of the late fourth Kazekage. The Naras and their son Shikamaru approached Kakashi, Shino Aburame and his father Shibi nodded, Kiba Inuzuka, his mother Tsume and his sister Hana bounded over, Lee literally leaped at him and the suna trio approached. He laid Sasuke down and then collapsed into a nearby chair as the stress of the day washed over him. Lady Tsunade rushed out of one of the make shift rooms labeled Choji Akimichi. She rushed over and did a quick scan of Sasuke. Barking some orders at the medics to take the boy, restrain his chakra and heal him she turned back to Kakashi.

"Where is Naruto?" Tsunade asked. Kakashi frowned, though no one saw it, and a tear slid down his face. Being a trained ninja everyone was shocked by the show of emotion. Suddenly it clicked with Tsunade. She too collapsed on a bench.

"Are you sure Kakashi?" she asked. She couldn't, no wouldn't believe it. Kakashi slowly stumbled over to her and handed her the Hitai Ite. Tsunade's world shattered. She had lost another one of her precious people. After staring at the white tent for a few minutes she put on her Hokage face. Not a moment too soon it appeared as the rest of the Konoha 12 entered the tent, senseis included. All of them were happy that the mission had succeeded but wondered why the normally emotionless Shino was slouched on a bench and Shikamaru was frowning. Under normal circumstances that would have been troublesome. Lee also looked distraught. In a corner Hana and Kiba followed Tsunades example, staring at the tent, their eyes glazing over.

Hey, what's wrong with you guys?" Sakura chimed in, "Sasuke's back. I'm glad Naruto-baka got so strong. Who knew the dobe had it in him. OH, where is Narut…" Sakura suddenly stopped as Tsunade put her fist into a nearby water cooler. The water evaporated off of her chakra enhanced fist as she withdrew it from the container.

Turning to Kakashi she growled "I'll leave it to you. I have to get back to healing Neji." Tsunade exited into one of the side rooms. Kakashi nodded to her, glad that he wasn't a water cooler right now. He turned back to the others who all had expressions of concern on their faces. Kakashi slowly lifted the Hitai Ite that was now wet from the little water cooler incident. Many looked confused as the standard colors for the band did not include purple. As the water dripped down Ino noticed that it was tinted red. She was trying to place where she had seen water like that.

She remembered her team's first C-ranked mission. The team had been tasked with protecting a trade caravan. They had fought several bandits at a bridge. Some of the bandits had been knocked into the small stream below, their blood mixing with the water. As it hit her she gasped. The crowd of new comers looked at her.

"He's dead?" she said staring at Kakashi. Suddenly everyone whipped their heads at Kakashi whether it was to learn the truth or reaffirm the previous action the copy cat ninja had made. Kakashi nodded once. Ino and Tenten joined the Inuzuka siblings in their wall staring antics, Hinata stumbled back to a wall, slid down it and proceeded to sob, Lee stood strong though on the inside he felt the loss of a youthful rival and all of the senseis gave a silent prayer for the boy. Sakura realized her mistake and felt the guilt jump on her.

She was the reason he had gone. She was the reason that Neji and Chōji had returned injured. She was the reason that the blue eyed, blonde haired boy would never return. And she had spit on the boy's memory to the woman who cared for him like a son no less. As the knowledge hit her like a sledge hammer she looked to all the others. She felt relief that no one seemed to be angry with her for the loss. That was until she saw Hinata. Sakura was shocked, the girl was so shy and caring, but what she saw was a girl full of hate. Hinata was glaring daggers at her. Sakura bowed her head and land with a thump next to Kakashi. She too stared at the wall of the tent trying hard not to make eye contact with the enraged Hyūga. She felt tears spring to her eyes for her fallen comrade.

Three days later people had gathered at Naruto's funeral. It seemed sad that the only people to show up were teammates, Iruka, Ayame and Teuchi. Tsunade had decided not to reveal Naruto's biggest secret until his name was etched on the memorial stone; his full name.

As the genin 9 and team guy scanned the rock they gasped. Tsunade was now addressing the village.

"What I'm about to tell you was considered an S-class secret. Since the person it pertains to is no longer alive I see no reason to keep it from you anymore. As many of you know Naruto Uzumaki was the jinchūriki of the nine tail demon fox, the same fox that attacked this village years ago. However many of you were sure that Naruto was the fox and hounded him. YOU WERE WRONG. Naruto was a savior. He kept the fox at bay for his entire life even through the psychological and physical abuse you put him through. Did you all know this actual put more stress on him and his mission to restrain the fox?" Many of the villagers were now hanging their heads in shame.

"Well it's a moot point right now," Tsunade stated "What I thought you all might like to know is the identity of his parents. His father was our beloved fourth hokage, Minato Namikaze. His mother was the only known survivor of the whirlpool, Kushina Uzumaki. I hope that you all are ashamed of your actions, you spat on the fourth's legacy. This boy was a hero and the son of one of the most esteemed ninjas in the village. Let us have a moment of silence in remembrance of him."

The whole village hung their heads all thinking of times that had refused services to the boy or beat him in a drunken stupor. Tsunade coughed and brought everyone's attention back to her.

"Thank you. You may all go back to your business." she said. Tsunade then turned and reentered her office. She collapsed into her chair as the stress of the last few days washed over her. Finally alone she cried. Her reason for being here was gone now. She was debating whether she wanted to run and leave all of the bullshit behind her. After several moments of deliberation she decided that since her brother, Dan and Naruto couldn't live their dreams she would do it for them. She would stay in her seat as Hokage as long as the village needed her to.

A knock at the door pulled her out of her current realm of thinking. Quickly drying her eyes she asked her secretary what it was.

"Hinata Hyuga is here, Tsunade-sama." The secretary replied. "She wished to speak to you about Naruto Uzumaki's apartment and his belongings."

"Let her in" Tsunade sighed. 'Why would Hinata want to talk about that' Tsunade thought to herself.

As Hinata entered Tsunade did a double take. The girl standing in front of her could not be Hianta. Hinata wore a tan coat; she usually had a small smile and bright eyes. Standing in front of her was a Hinata clone. Orochimaru must have been experimenting. The Hinata in front of her was wearing her usual pants however her coat was now replaced by a loose fitting black hoodie. Her face seemed older; her eyes were red (she had obviously been crying) and her smile was gone. If anything she had on a face of determination that someone her age shouldn't have been able to put on.

"Lady Tsunade," Hinata said "I would like the mission to clean out Naruto's apartment and if you don't mind I'd like to do it solo."

Tsunade had one question on her mind and decided to voice it. "Why?"

"I loved Naruto-kun. Even if I never told him I really did. I want to be the one to clean his apartment because I will respect his belongings. I know that all the villagers now know who he is, but I do not believe that they will respect him or his things. I only wish to show the respect he deserved and never received." Hinata said her voice shaking. Tsunade stared at her in amazement. Normally Hinata would have been blushing just thinking about Naruto, but there she was her face the same as when she had entered the office. Tsunade felt a pain in her heart as she too had loved and lost.

After a moment of remembrance Tsunade cleared her throat. "All right Hinata you may have that mission however time is of the essence. I believe that the land lord was going to completely clear out Naruto's place and use it as storage. According to him no one would want to rent the place a _demon_ lived even if he was the son of a hero." Tsunade noticed the girl's eye twitched a little when she had said the word demon. "I would suggest you finish this mission by the end of the week."

With that Hinata gave a respectful bow and said "Hai, Hokage-sama," then turned and left the hokage's office. Tsunade had missed it, but Hinata had tears in her eyes. She had held back so many emotions she had to cry off and on or she would burst. She was glad her mission had been approved, sad that Naruto was dead, sadder she had never had a chance to tell him how she felt and angry that the village was still treating him as a demon.

Lost in thought she arrived at Naruto's apartment. She fumbled with the keys and unlocked the door. As she peaked inside she was disgusted by what she saw. It was not that Naruto was a slob it was what the villagers had done to his place. The walls had been spray painted with messages of hate. Hinata wondered why Naruto had never repainted his apartment. As she looked into his bedroom she felt her anger rise even more. Several bloodstains were left on the carpet that covered the floor of the room. Hinata had enough common sense to assume that the blood was his.

Deciding to get down to business she got out several garbage bags and a storage scroll. She picked thorugh all of Naruto's belongings, sealing clothing and weapons while tossing out all of the garbage left. She had difficulty believing that Naruto could drink all the sake in the empty bottles and was even angrier at the villagers who had used Naruto's apartment as a dump. As she tossed out all the bottles she noticed something under them. She picked it up and found herself looking at a strange kunai. For some reason it had a seal wrapped around it with intricate brushstrokes. It also had three prongs. She couldn't explain it but she felt that she should keep the kunai.

A tear streaked her face as she thought" It's not as if Naruto will miss it."

Hundreds of kilometers away a boy woke up. He had ended up in a shallow pool of water in a river. He was being pushed along the bottom by the gentle rocking waves. As he stared at the sky he started to wonder.

"Who am I? Where am I?" he thought. A wave pain that started in his chest ripped through him. As he started to fall back into an unconscious state he heard someone approaching him. A scream and a command "Mio go back to town and get a doctor!" was all the boy heard before he fell back into the darkness.

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**And that's the end of chapter one. I hope you guys like it. Truth be told I have the first four chapters planned. If I don't get anyone interested in this story by that time I may put this story on the back burner and work on another idea I had for a while. Also I want an interactive audience so I'm going to ask; I already (in case you couldn't have guessed) have decided that this is NarutoxHinata. The question is will there be more x's? Will this be a harem story? It's up to you. Next time I will ask who should be in it so save it for the next time.**

**Moose007 out.**


	2. Ch 2 The Awakening

**Hello everybody Moose007 here with another chapter for ****Rebirth through Death****. The general consensus is no harem. And so shall it be. However **_**Wyrtha **_**pointed out that I could have other characters try to but in on the relationship. This week's question is how far should they be allowed to but in. This starts from simple lies (he told me he doesn't love you) to naughty (#%$ing). I personally think kissing anyone besides Hinata is as far as it needs to go, but I aim to please the audience.**** Also you will notice that some words are in bold this time around. I decided to create an encyclopedia of knowledge for my story. The first time you encounter something (not someone) original or something I deem necessary to explain I will make it bold (sans the AN). The AN at the bottom shall describe it at the end. Can't wait to figure it out CTRL+F and type in the word.**

**P.S. I don't own Naruto.**

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As the blond boy faded in and out of conscious he started to gather information on the predicament he was in. First, and perhaps most disturbing of all he had no personal memories. The only one he could remember was coming to in a river and hearing someone scream and an order to find a doctor. The boy could only assume the doctor was for him seeing as he felt as though he had been stabbed in the chest.

The second thing he realized was also a little disturbing. It appeared that the people referred to him as "the boy from the sea". He came to the conclusion that the people around him didn't know who he was either. However they seemed to bear no ill will towards him so he relaxed hoping that he would not be betrayed.

He also learned several minor things from the hushed conversation that took place near him. He was in a small village called **Kawamura** in the southwestern part of the land of fire. He had been found in the delta further down the river by a young girl and her mother named Mio and Akiko Koizumi, respectively. He also heard someone mention kunai and shuriken holsters that he had on him when he was found. He decided that once he could move he would investigate. He knew that if they were sharp more than likely he was a ninja and not some kid with a set of toys that had fallen in to the river trying to mimic the water walking exercise. However he knew very well if he moved to early in the healing process he may do more damage to himself. He decided he would wait until he heard a Doctor give the go ahead.

What seemed like an eternity later he heard mumbling from beyond the door.

"I'm amazed. He appears to be cognitive. Also all of the breaks we identified when you found him have set." a man said. The boy heard him speak with authority, but he didn't seem to be flaunting it.

"That's a good thing right." This voice appeared to be that of a woman. She had concern in her voice. The boy figured she must be Akiko.

"Yeah, I hope he's up soon. It's always fun to meet someone new." Another girl said/shouted.

"Mio" the boy thought as he stood and started making his way towards the door. He looked down and was glad that he had not just burst through the door. He saw that he only had his boxers on and did not want to scar Mio or Akiko.

"Well if that's all Hama-**sensei** you may leave whenever you're ready." Akiko said.

"I did have one more concern. Even if his regenerative abilities are a Kekkei Genkai most humans would be dead with that hole in their chest. Yet here we are three days later and the wound has completely healed. I don't know if that is even possible with the medical expertise of Tsunade-sama. I would ask that you send him to me once he starts moving."

"That will not be necessary." Everyone turned to see the boy propping himself up in the door frame with a towel wrapped around his waist. The boy started to take in his surroundings scanning the room from left to right. Near the door he saw a man in a white doctor's uniform. The man was about 167 centimeters and seemed to be built like a track-star. He had a stethoscope around his neck and a small black bag in his left hand. His dark brown hair was in a buzz cut about 2 centimeters long.

On the couch sat two women though the boy doubted if the smaller one was older than himself. The motherly looking one appeared to be about 160 centimeters tall. She had a fair body, not skinny however not fat. The boy could only describe her as a mother through and through. She had her red hair trimmed to about shoulder length and soft facial features. Leaning against her was, what he could only assume to be her, daughter. She was about 15 centimeters shorter than her mother (for those who don't want to do math that's 145 centimeters). She had the same facial features and red hair as her mother though her hair was in a ponytail and appeared to be longer. Being younger and not having given birth her body looked like a skinnier, shorter version of the woman next to her. The boy couldn't help but notice that the younger girl was staring at his chest.

"Uhm, hi." The boy said to the group. "Sorry, but could you stop staring at me." he direct towards the girl. As she turned red her mother gently slapped the side of her daughter's head.

Turning towards the boy she said "Sorry where are my manners. My name is Akiko Koizumi and this is my daughter Mio. The man in the doctor's clothing is Akio Hama. He is the one who has been tending to your injures for the past few days." She paused "and you are?" she said looking at him expectantly.

"I don't know" the boy said. "My head's in a fog right now. I can remember things that seem insignificant, but I can't remember my name or where I came from."

The doctor looked at the boy and said "Well when you were recovered from the delta you had a cracked skull, all of your limbs were broken and you had a large hole punched in your chest. You're lucky memory loss is your biggest problem."

"How about you look through your stuff?" Mio said with a grin. "You may be able to find an ID or something that could jog your memory."

"I'm surprised you and your mother hadn't looked through it already" the boy replied before realizing his mistake.

Mio frowned and, with a little venom, said "We respected your privacy." The boy blushed and quickly apologized. He picked up the kunai holster and did a once over of the outside. Seeing no place to keep an ID he opened up the holster. He pulled out several sharp kunai and placed them on the coffee table in front of the couch. He looked at the label inside the holster and saw it said _Made in Konoha_. He then went to the shuriken holster and followed the same procedure. In this holster he found a dozen shuriken. After this he went through the tattered clothing that he had been wearing when he was found and withdrew two scrolls. One appeared to be blank except for a seal and the words Minato Namikaze scribbled at the top. The other had an intricate seal that took up the entire scroll. He also found two initials on the tag of the orange jacket that read N.U. He took time to gather his thoughts and then sat on the floor to address his audience.

"There are two ways to look at the information I gathered; I stole the scrolls and was hurt by a pursuit team or these scrolls are mine and I was hurt in battle. Either way I believe I am a ninja. Now I noticed that the tags on my weapon holsters said _Made in Konoha_ and most enemy ninja would not stop to buy supplies while stealing sensitive information. That's why I think I am a ninja of Konoha. I also noticed that my clothes were labeled with the letters N.U. I still can't remember my name." the boy said sighing at the last sentence.

"How about Naruto or Norio" Mio said.

The boy looked at her a little stunned. "Why those names? I mean seriously fish paste?"

Mio blushed a little "Well I'm a little hungry and was thinking about Ramen." She giggled then frowned "and Norio was my father's name."

Naruto frowned too then said "Well until I can remember I would be honored to use your father's name, if that's alright with you two."

Mio nodded and Akiko said "That's fine but what about your last name."

Mio enjoying the name game said with a smile "How about Umi? We found you down in the delta and your eyes are blue."

"That seems acceptable." The newly dubbed Norio Umi said with a small smile. He then glanced back at the scrolls and turned to Akiko "Is there a library in this village Koizumi-**sama**?" Norio questioned.

"Now, now no need to be so formal. Call me Akiko-**san**. To answer your question yes there is one near the middle of town. I assume you want to research the items you found in your holsters. I hope you will be able to, but if you cannot you may want to seek my father, Izo Koizumi. He was a soldier in the third ninja war and knows a little about ninja equipment. Unfortunately he is on a trip selling his wears out of town and will be gone for another couple of days." She turned and addressed her daughter "Mio-**chan** why don't you take Norio into town and show him around." She then stood up and walked over to a table near the door "Mio here take some money and buy Norio and yourself some Ramen."

"I can't accept that." Norio said. "I have already taken advantage of your kindness."

Akiko just waved it off "It's alright Norio-san. I wanted to help you so you did not take advantage of our kindness. However now that you're doing better I wanted to propose something to you." She said looking at Norio. He nodded for her to continue. "I run a small hot spring in town. I figure that you need a place to stay and someone to feed you a decent meal every once in a while. You come work for me and I'll let you stay with us."

Norio pondered the offer. He indeed had nowhere else to go. These people seemed to be nice enough. They had healed him back from what sounded to be a terrible accident. "Okay that sounds acceptable. I just have one question; do you have any clothes that I could wear. I don't really want to go into town with just a towel wrapped around my waist."

Akiko laughed "Sure let me go look." She said as walked into one of the other rooms in the house. Norio walked back into the room he had been staying in and was suddenly exhausted. He collapsed on to the bed and was asleep in a matter of seconds. Akiko came back to the room and saw him sleeping. She quietly closed the door.

"Sorry Mio-chan looks like you'll have to wait. Your crush just passed out." Akiko said.

Mio blushed five shades of red and shouted at her "Moooommmmmm that's not funny." "Though he is pretty hot" she thought to herself.

Norio was having a very vivid dream. Almost really he felt though several things had made it impossible. First off he was standing in a sewer. That was believable. He knew that ninja didn't always have the most pleasant jobs. However that's where the realism stopped because in front of him was a cage. With a fox. That was easily 18 meters tall. And it had nine tails. And it was talking to him. His mind working feverishly he remembered something about the Kyūbi no Yōko, a giant demon fox. However he also remembered that the fourth Hokage had defeated the terrible monster in battle.

"Well Kit this is the last time I'll be bothering you." The giant fox roared. "It seems that after your battle with your brother I had to give you almost all of my chakra. Not that I had a choice. Stupid seal choosing your life over mine. However now you'll stop being limited by me. I guess I can look forward to being free of this damn cage if only to be stuck in the Shinigami. Change of scenery will be good though." Suddenly the fox started fading out. "Well you'll have all my abilities now. Ha who knows maybe you'll be the next nine tails." Norio was now alone in the dark sewer. Suddenly the sewer started changing. He was now in at the main desk at the entrance of a library. He was standing in front of the desk that had a note taped to it. The note read "Entry to this library is not available at this time. Please come back later." The library faded and darkness reigned.

Hundreds of kilometers to the northeast the fifth Hokage, Tsunade Senju was massaging her temple with her left hand and signing mission reports with her right. Slowly she was recalling the day's events.

That morning she had gone to see the last loyal (used in the loosest of terms) Uchiha in his prison cell. The boy just stared at her almost daring her to knock the smug look he had on his face off. Of course if she had the smug look along with the rest of his head would probably be vacating the land of fire.

"So Sasuke are you happy? You killed your true brother in combat. Has your Mangekyō Sharingan activated yet?" Tsunade asked smuggly.

Returning with the same tone Sasuke said "That dobe. A brother. Ha. He was just a tool. Someone I used to get what I wanted. He wasn't even hard to defeat. That's probably why my Mangekyō Sharingan hasn't activated."

Figuring the council would frown if she killed the boy Tsunade decided to leave before she turned the boy into some sort of paste. Frowning she thought to herself "Naruto's sacrifice would be in vain if I killed the boy."

Later that day the shit continued to pile up. Team Seven had been disbanded however Sakura had come to talk to Tsunade. She came at the same time as Team Eight came to deliver its mission report. Everyone in the room except Hinata swore the temperature dropped several degrees from when they entered to when they left. Hinata had upgraded from glaring daggers to glaring large swords at Sakura. The KI in the room was on par with Tsunade's when she had caught Jiraya peeping. After giving report Team Eight left and the heat returned to the Hokage's office for it to drop again.

Team Ten entered the office and the changes in the non-Jōnin were very evident. Shikamaru was very attentive and during the whole meeting he never uttered the word troublesome even when it was obvious that things were. Chōji had not once pulled out a bag of snacks. If Tsunade had to guess she would swear the boy had actually lost a little weight. Ino's change was most obvious. When Sakura went to greet the girl she was ignored. Angered by this she tried to get Ino's goat.

"Sasuke said that he didn't want to see anyone but me. Looks like I won Ino-pig. Don't worry you can have Naruto-**baka**. Oh wait no you can't." Sakura shouted then gasped because she remembered where she was. Fortunately Tsunade was saved from another annoying council meeting when Ino went to slap the girl. Sakura tried to dodge, but she realized she couldn't move.

The slap was about to be followed by another however Chōji stepped in and told Ino "Stop. She isn't worth it. Don't get booted from the Ninja ranks for this bitch. Apparently she still hasn't realized she is the reason Naruto's dead." Sakura cringed at Chōji's words partial because she knew they were true and partial because she didn't want to believe them. Meanwhile observant people would see a shadow retreating towards Shikamaru. Asuma hurried Team Ten out the door before the situation could get more out of hand.

Sakura followed a few minutes later fearing what would happen when she was alone with Tsunade in her office. She passed Training Ground 7 and saw that Team Guy was practicing. Neji and Ten-ten were practicing off to the sides and Lee was working with Lee.

"Yosh my student. Let us do 500 more pushups." Guy shouted with his usual exuberance. Sakura had expected Lee to shout something about youthfulness and create some sort of ridiculous challenge, but was shocked when the boy merely nodded and started doing what his sensei had instructed.

Sakura decided she needed to talk to Hinata, so she headed to the Hyūga estate. As she headed along the wall to the main entrance she heard someone crying. Curiosity got the better of Sakura so she channeled some chakra to her feet and scaled the wall. Looking down she saw Hinata in her room sobbing.

"Why did he go? Why did he promise her that? Why did he leave me?" Hinata chocked out. Sakura was a little confused. Why would Hinata cry over Naruto. "I love you Naruto" Hinata sobbed. "Why couldn't I say that to his face?" Sakura's eyes widen. She realized that Naruto played a pivotal role in almost every one of her friends' lives. Shoulders hung low Sakura jumped from the wall and trudge towards her house to gather her thoughts.

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**Alright another chapter done. I put my question at the top this time so just refer to it for this weeks interactivity. I figured some of you may be interested in my original material so I'll put in a little section down here.**

**Encyclopedia of Knowledge (EoK)**

**-sensei**

** This honorific is given to someone who is held in a high regard mainly because of their profession doctors and teachers for example.**

**-sama**

** This honorific is for someone who is to be given respect. Often used for adult by children who are not related.**

**-san**

** This is a standard honorific between people of similar standing.**

**-chan**

** This honorific denotes a higher level of trust than the –san honorific. Most often associated with younger girls.**

**-baka**

** This honorific (if it can even be called that) means idiot.**

**Kawamura-river village**

** I figured that since Naruto had drifted down the river that he fought Sasuke he would picked up somewhere along that body of water. He actual ended up at the end of it in the delta. Now I know I might not be geographically correct when I say that the river flows southwest but too bad. That's how it works in my story.**

**Names-**

**Koizumi-little spring**

** It only seems appropriate that this family would run a hot spring. The way I chose my names specifically was googling and picking out ones that fit my story.**

**Mio-Beautiful Cherry**

** She a red head who's gonna be smoking hot later. Right now she is 11. Her height is 145cm or about 4'9". She is the daughter of Akiko Koizuma and Norio (last name undecided) and the granddaughter of Izo Koizuma**

**Akiko-Autumn Child**

** Mio's mother. She is 32 and 160cm or about 5'3". Her father is Izo Koizuma.**

**Izo-Iron**

** Appropriate for a blacksmith, huh. Anyways we haven't seen him in the story yet, so no vitals right now.**

**Hama-beach**

** This is the doctor's last name. Presumably his family had lived near the delta until they decided to move into Kawamura.**

**Akio-Bright Man**

** Seems to apply him being a doctor and all. He is 167 cm tall or 5'6" and 27 years old.**

**Norio-Man of principals**

** We all know that Naruto follows through his promises. This seemed appropriate and through the story he will prove it again and again**

**Umi-Sea**

** With his bright blue eyes and his personality this name seemed appropriate too. Add in where they found him and it works.**

**Alright read and review. Thanks for your support guys.**

**Moose007 out.**


	3. Ch 3 Dream or Nightmare

**Hi guys. Sorry about taking so long to get this out, but I have a good reason. I'm lazy. :) Oh well. Anyways I decided with some help from others that no clothing will be lost from the competing girls. Naruto might catch a glimpse of flesh but nothing sexual except with Hinata. Oh well he'll survive. By the way random musing: Could the cat Tora be afraid of Kiba and Naruto because of the similarities to canines. If so would Tora be afraid of the Nibi ****Jinchūriki?**** Anyways on to chapter 3. Also all jutsus shall be bold no matter if it has appeared before or not. Also probably all jutsus shall appear in the EoK.**

**And I still don't own Naruto.**

****

It had been approximately three days since Norio had dreamed of the Kyūbi. He had decided to find out as much as he could about the fox and the items he had carried with him from wherever he came. He had gone to village library and much to his dismay they had very little information on ninjas. The librarian had pointed him to the children's section. He couldn't help but groan. The information he wanted would surely not be there. So he determined that he would go and talk to Izo when he returned which brings us to his current situation.

Norio was being dragged by a hyper Mio through Kawamura. She wanted to introduce her grandfather to her new friend. As they walked down the street Norio recognized several of the buildings he had visited with Mio the past few days.

On the left side of the street he saw the clothing store, **Ito Jisei**, Mio had forced him into a day before. Mio had told him that he couldn't wear her father's old, baggy clothes and that it was time to get a new outfit. Deciding to go with simplicity in the color department he went with blacks, greens and browns. Seriously what kind of ninja would wear anything else? Deciding that fall was approaching Norio decided to pick out pairs of pocket laden pants with a camouflage design. He also picked out several black mesh muscle shirts and two hooded sweat shirts that matched the pants coloring. He was pretty pleased with his purchases and was happy to have some fresh clothes. He laughed at his earlier thoughts on the color scheme when Akiko said that his original clothing (which was trashed) was neon orange.

To the right was the path that led to Akiko's Hot Springs, known throughout the village as AHS. The name was deemed appropriate when Norio was told by Akiko to go in and relax after work two days ago. As he sunk into the hot spring he could feel the tension leaving his muscles and he let out a small sigh. He then laughed when Mio shouted from the others side of the barrier "Hence the acronym!" Truthfully Norio was happy working at AHS for his room and board. Akiko had also let him borrow some money to buy the aforementioned clothing telling he could work it off as part of her deal.

As they turned the corner Norio saw what was by far his favorite place, so far. **Riku kyou Umi Ramen** was where Mio had taken him after he had gotten frustrated at the Library. For some reason the Ramen helped him cool down, even if it was piping hot. The store had been built on the lower level of a five story building. The counter wrapped around the kitchen island so you could see as the chefs cooked your meal.

As they passed Riku kyou Umi Ramen Norio paused as the scent of Ramen wafted into his nose. He had to fight an instinct that told him to march in and order half a dozen bowls. Noticing he had stopped Mio went and playfully slapped his shoulder to snap him out of his stupor. As he continued down the street Mio entered a store he had yet to be in. She had told him earlier that week that it was her grandfather's store, **Hi no Fo-ji**.

Norio had seen the front of the store a couple of times when he was going through town with Mio earlier that week. The windows facing the street had bars in a crosshatch pattern to prevent break-ins and over the door was a sign with an anvil surrounded by flames. Through the windows you could see various weapons and cases that Izo had forged or traded for. What was different about the store this time was the door was open indicating That Izo had returned. Norio was giddy with the fact that he might finally get some information on his past.

He was snapped out of his musings when he heard Mio shout "**Ojii-san** where are you?"

Norio heard a faint voice respond "Is that my little **bara**? I'm at the outdoor forge come on back."

Mio grumbled and whined "Oji-san I thought I told you to stop calling me that." She once again had to grab a dazed Norio and drag him through the store. It must be instinctual for all teenagers to enjoy weapons because Norio was excited to see all of the polished, gleaming metal. As they made their way past the wrap around counter that was at the right and back side of the store Norio heard some banging followed by the hiss of steam. He continued to follow Mio through what appeared to be a storage room for the different metals used by the blacksmith.

They passed through another door that led to an outdoor forging area. Standing next the forge was a man with a piece of metal in a pair of tongs. The man was about 193 centimeters tall and was built like a bodybuilder. He had a large black beard and a bald head. He was garbed in a set of blue pants and a blue sweatshirt. Over that he had a heavy duty apron. He placed the piece of metal back in the forge and started pumping the billows to heat the fire again.

"Hey oji-san, making another Katana?" Mio shouted to the man at the forge. "Anyways I wanted you to meet my new friend. Mom and I found him drifting down near the estuary all beat up, so we brought back up to the house. Now he can't remember anything. He went through his stuff and thinks he's a ninja and since you fought in the last war we thought that you may be able to answer some of his questions."

"Alright I can try to answer anything you ask, but I'm not a ninja so my knowledge is pretty basic" Izo grunted as he bent to check his fire. "First things first though what is my daughter calling you?"

"Well when we went through my things we found my initials N.U. so Mio-chan and Akiko-san have been calling me Norio Umi. And what should I call you?" Norio asked.

"You can call me super awesome blacksmith man!" Izo shouted. Mio walked up behind her grandfather and bonked him on the head.

"Baka" she grumbled "Call him whatever you want Norio."

"How about Izo-sama?" Norio asked.

Izo chuckled and then said "No need to be so formal Izo-san will work just fine. Now I believe you had some questions, so ask away. I've got to keep working the steel so just keep your mouth pointed at me so I can hear you."

"Alright I guess I just want to know whatever you can tell me about ninja. I'm hoping that as you mention things to me I will remember them" Norio said.

"Well let see standard weaponry for ninja are kunai and shuriken." Izo said. Norio dug into his holster and held out one of each. "Yeah it seems that you were combat prepared when my daughter found you. Add that to the fact that you were beat up and I'd say you were on a mission. Something must have happened and you fell into the river and got washed downstream. With all the rain we've been having I doubt they'll be able to track you if you weren't suppose to be near the river. Then there's the fact you were in the river so no scent there."

Norio nodded in agreement then asked "How about some techniques? Any idea how ninja do what they do?"

Izo stroked his beard then said "Well I know three standard techniques that all field ninja should know and I know to perform the technique chakras involved. I remember this man once showed me how to focus chakra." Izo held his hands in the form of the ram seal. "Okay hold your hands like this. Now trained ninja will have a gut felling and their chakra will start to mold. When you fell that feeling start to slow shout "kai". Even though Mio and I aren't trained we should be able to feel our skin tingle as the foreign chakra interacts with ours.

Norio nodded as he felt the tug in his gut. After about two minutes he felt it change. Deciding that was the signal Norio shouted "Kai." A blue shockwave spread out from Norio for about ten meters followed by a breeze. Mio and Izo stared in awe of the boy.

Izo turned back to the piece of metal he was forging and noticed it was glowing blue. He chuckled then threw his head back in a full blown laugh. He stopped and saw Norio and Mio staring at him. Wiping a tear from his eye he looked at Norio and said "Yeah now I'm sure you're a ninja. The guy who showed me that technique could only get enough chakra molded to make the hairs on my arm stand up. You actually created a visible wave of chakra and a breeze to boot. You also let loose enough chakra to charge the metal I was forging."

Norio gave a puzzled look and muttered "Charged the metal?"

Izo nodded and explained "The Katana I'm making is specifically for ninjas. When you funnel chakra into the blade it strengthens the metal. If you charge elemental chakra into the blade it may lengthen, strengthen, electrify or even ignite the blade. However the techniques I'm about to tell you don't require elemental chakra and I don't know much about it so that's just as well. The first technique I know is called **Henge**. It allows the ninja using it to transform. I'm not entirely sure how it works I think the guy said it was called a genjutsu. The next technique I know is called a **Bunshin**. This allows you to create a copy of yourself. However it is very similar to an after image. It is not solid so it's mainly used as a distraction. The final technique is called a **Kawarimi**. This technique allows a user to switch places with another object or even a person. If you can get those techniques down you may be able to remember more."

Norio nodded and said "Thank you for your time. I'll see if I can't any of those techniques to work."

He started to walk away when Izo shouted after him "Norio if you want to earn some extra money and learn a little about forging feel free to come back here when you can. I know my daughter has you working at AHS but I'm usually open at least 2 hours before sunrise and 2 hours after sunset."

Norio gave a small smile and shouted back "I may just take you up on that."

Mio looked at Norio with a pair of puppy eyes, batted her eyelashes and said "Do you think you could teach me any of those techniques? Please?"

Norio resisted the urge to laugh at her cute face and said "I'll try but I can't remember how to do any of them. The library had a book called "Your First Twelve Hand Signs" so I might check it out and see if focusing my chakra in any of those signs will help." Mio nodded and the turned down the road to go to the library. After getting the book and library card iIt was about 5 in the evening so Norio decided he would read the book tonight and try focusing the chakra tomorrow. He knew what he had done at Hi no Fo-ji could be dangerous if done improperly so he wanted to find a place in the forest to practice. He and Mio arrived back at Akiko's just in time to set the table. They had another place set today for Izo. Dinner was rather uneventful though Izo was telling of his travels. Norio learned that Izo would go out of town with other traders to sell his weapons since he rarely got customers in Kawamaru. After dinner Norio went and sat on the couch to read his book while Mio looked over his shoulder. As he read he couldn't help but feel that something was missing. He went into his bedroom and pulled out the two scrolls then head back to the kitchen where Izo and Akiko were talking.

Izo saw him approaching and said "You're lucky Norio I got a deal worked out with Akiko here. She decided that you only have to work at AHS on the weekends. The rest of the week you can work with me or on your ninja techniques. Don't think you're getting it easy I'm going to pay you at a reduced rate. You'll also have to come with me when I go on trips."

Norio's mouth flapped like a fish. He was excited to say the least. He was all but apprenticing under Izo. He found it reassuring that if being a ninja didn't work out he had something to fall back on. Grinning like a mad man Norio approached Izo and gave him a polite bow. He then approached Akiko and gave her a tight hug. A tear of joy rolled down his face and he his voice cracked as he said "Thank you." After a minute of hugging Akiko, Norio recomposed himself and wiped his eyes. He wasn't sure why he had done what he did, but he felt better. He turned to Izo and said "Anyways the reason I came back here was I had another question for you. Do you know what either of these seals does?" He held out the two scrolls he had for Izo to inspect.

After looking at the scrolls for a couple of minutes Izo handed him one and said "That one is a storage seal. It creates a space to store objects in. I use them a lot to keep my shop organized. All you have to do is push some chakra into that circle at the bottom." Norio nodded and decided that he would check what was in the scroll tomorrow. Izo handed him the second scroll. "That one I don't recognize. You may want to bring it next time we go on a trip. Our local library leaves a lot to be desired. We will be going to Konohagakure in about 8 months. There library will be more likely to have something on it." Norio smiled at that. He was curious who he was, but he wasn't in hurry to go back to a place that had nearly sent him to his death.

Norio gave one last nod than said "I'm gonna go to sleep. I'll see you in the morning." He exit and flopped down on the futon in the guest room and let the darkness claim him.

Once again Norio had a vivid dream. He was sitting on a swing watching a group of kids and their parents hugging each other and cheering. He felt someone approaching from behind and turned his head.

"Hello Mizuki-sensei." Norio mumbled. Then Norio thought to himself "Wait I know who that is. How?" Norio refocused on the dream. He was now smiling a little and questioned "So there is a makeup exam for me? All I have to do is break into Jiji's office and steal a scroll behind his desk? Once I do that I have to learn a technique from the scroll before sunrise and I'll pass?"

The now named Mizuki nodded and said "Yes Norio. I'll wait in the forest behind the Hyūga complex."

Time seemed to flash forward as it was now dark and Norio was standing in front of what appeared to be a government building. He raised his eyes and saw the kanji for "fire" on the building. Norio thought to himself "Assuming I'm in Konoha that the hokage's place. And I'm trying to break into it. I think I'm a baka." He looked down and saw some hand sign's and immediately tried to memorize them. Sure this might be a dream, but he had no clue how to do any jutsu so why doubt his mind now. Norio thought "Ram boar ox dog snake. I think I got it." He saw the result he was now the other side of the gates and there was a rock where he had been standing. "**Kawamiri**!" he mind exclaimed. He was definitely trying that tomorrow.

Again time sped forward. He was now standing in front of the case with a scroll that had the kanji for "forbidden" on it. "Really I'm taking the forbidden scroll. I am a baka." Hearing a noise he whipped around and saw an older man in some sort of ceremonial robes. The man was looking at him with a stern face though Norio swore he detected a small smirk.

"Norio what are you-"the man started to say. Norio held his hand in the ram seal gathered chakra and shouted "**Oiroke no Jutsu!**" A poof of smoke appeared around Norio. As it cleared he saw that he was a nude woman. "**Henge**" Norio thought. He was also mentally slapping himself for turn into a naked woman. He also noted that the man had rocketed backwards with a massive nosebleed.

"Sorry Jiji" Norio said as a foxy grin spread across his face. He felt a familiar tug and once again was thrown forward in time. Norio was now sitting in a wooded area. He could see no nearby structures. He pulled out the forbidden scroll and started looking over the jutsus. Finally he came across a jutsu named **Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**. As he looked over the scroll he found the hand signs for the technique. He was curious as to what the hand sign was since it had not been in his book. While the dream Norio went about trying to make the clone technique work Norio was trying to remember what he had briefly seen on the scroll.

From what he had glimpsed from the scroll the **Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** was a Kinjutsu for two reasons. The first was that it required massive amounts of chakra. Full fledge Jōnin could often make only three kage bunshins before passing out due to chakra exhaustion and this technique was suppose to make hundreds. The second reason was the clones returned all memories to the user. The potential to increase one's knowledge skyrocketed, but at a price. Receiving too much information at once could literally overload the user's brain and send them in to a catatonic state or even death. However further investigation proved that if one hundred clones all worked on the same thing, say a fire jutsu, then the mental backlash was similar to using a clone to read an entire book. The scroll suggested that any user should not try to train with more than ten books worth of knowledge a day.

As Norio finished his inner musings he heard a pop and looked to see he had created around twenty clones. While not the one hundred he had been hoping for he was pleased that he could make about seven times the amount normal jōnins could. Norio rolled the scroll back up and waited for Mizuki to come to the clearing. A short while later (or another time jump, Norio could not tell) he heard rustling in the trees. Suddenly a man jumped down in front of Norio. The man stood at 178 centimeters and had a large gash across his noise. He was wearing a chūnin vest with a few scrolls in their holders.

"Iruka-sensei," Norio shouted "I did it. I completed a technique off the scroll, so now you'll pass me right?"

Iruka looked down at Norio and frowned. "Now who said that?" Iruka asked.

"Mizuki-sensei said if I could get this scroll out of the Hokage's office and learn a technique that I would be given a field promotion to the rank of genin." Norio quipped excitedly. "Ne, Iruka-sensei did he send you instead?"

Suddenly a large shuriken flew out of the trees and Iruka dived to push both Norio and himself out of harm's way. As they both recovered from the roll they looked up to see Mizuki standing on one of the many tree branches. "Kuso, missed the demon" Mizuki mumbled. He then looked down at Norio and his mouth turned up into a sadistic smile. "Hey Norio do you want to know why the villagers hate you? Why Iruka hates you? Why everyone hates you?" Mizuki shouted.

Norio slowly nodded his head while Iruka started to pale. He looked at Mizuki and shouted "You can't it's against the third's law. You'll be executed if you tell him."

Mizuki gave a deep chuckle and said "I'm going to kill you and that demon there. Then I'm going to give the forbidden scroll of sealing to my master and live the rest of my days in peace in Oto no Kuni. Anyways the reason everyone hates you Norio is because you are the Kyūbi no Yōko! You killed Iruka's parents." Mizuki shouted the last part triumphantly.

Norio was frozen. Even the real Norio was a little stunned. Sure this was a dream, but in conjunction with his recent ones he was pretty sure this dream was getting a little too real. Mizuki ocked back his arm with another large shuriken and let loose.

It was weird. One minute Norio was sure he was going to die. The next Iruka was in front of him with a shuriken stuck in his back. Iruka looked at the boy and forced himself to speak through the pain.

"Norio don't listen to Mizuki. You are not the fox. You are the jailor and the fox is your prisoner. I never blamed you for my parents' deaths."

Now Norio was determined. He had to protect this man. He was important. He put his hands into a cross shaped sign and gathered his chakra.

Turning to Mizuki he shouted "Don't touch Iruka-sensei. Anything you do to him will returned to you time one thousand! **Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!**" A load poof was heard and as the smoke cleared it was revealed that there was hundreds if not thousands of Norios in the clearing. Giving a war cry all of the Norios charged Mizuki. As the first blows were landed the dream started to fade.

Norio awoke from his slumber in a cold sweat. If that dream was really a memory he had learned quite a bit of information. Figuring there was only one way to find out Norio started to meditate, trying to access his mindscape.

****

**Alright another one down. I couldn't really think of a question that would immediately affect the story so this will probably stay the same for the next couple of chapters. I have a plan for a unique weapon for Naruto/Norio. My question is what should be his secondary weapon? This unique weapon will be mid to long range, so I was think some sort of short range blade. I also would prefer we stay similar to the culture. I was also wondering if someone could point me to a good translation site? When I start making my own jutsus I don't want the spelling to suck. Now I have a feeling some people will question the dream sequence. First off the reason Naruto is hearing Norio in his dreams is because he believes that is his identity. He is recalling memories and his mind is telling him that he is Norio. How can he recall the hand signs? Well similar to Sakura the original Naruto is kind of an Inner Norio now. He can say things but he has no influence on Norios actual actions. In the dream Naruto is trying to pass his knowledge back to Norio. More will be explained in the next chapter. Also given a shout out to two fellow authors this time:**

**First off ****Ackdam**** and his story "Naruto One Man Team". This is the story that actual interested me in fanfic and writing. **

**Second is ****Xutzy**** and his story "Sweet Release". I commend him for coming up with an original bloodline. Big thumbs up.**

**EoK**

**-Ito Jisei**

** Literally "Thread Trend" this store is one of the few clothing shops in Kawamaru. This store tends to cater to younger people.**

**-Riku kyou Umi Ramen**

** Literally "Land and Sea Ramen" this restaurant is famed as having Ramen that is very close to Ichiraku's. For some reason Norio likes it.**

**-Hi no Fo-ji**

** Literally "Forge of Fire" this is Izo's weapons shop. Norio will be working here throughout the story.**

**-Ojii-san**

** Literally "grandpa" an honorific used by Mio for Izo**

**-Bara**

** Literally "Rose" a pet name used by Izo for Mio. Probably a reference to her hair.**

**-Henge**

**Literally "Transformation" in my story I'm going to say the Henge is a genjutsu that messes with a person's vision. People who can detect a genjutsu can easily dispel this technique.**

**-Bunshin  
Literally "Clone" in my story this is another genjutsu that mess with the vision. Another easily dispelled technique.**

**-Kawarimi**

** Literally "Body replacement" a technique that allows the user to switch positions with another object. A skilled user can switch with another person.**

**-Oiroke no Jutsu**

** Literally "Sexy Technique" Naruto develop this "Kage Killer" to keep perverts at bay. Norio believes it is a henge when in truth it is an honest transformation. By layering himself in chakra the user creates a mental image of the desired change. The chakra than constructs itself to match the image. This technique is more difficukt than a henge but is also much harder to detect and dispel.**

**-Taj****ū**** Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**

** Literally "Mass Shadow Clone Technique" it is one of Naruto's and therefore Norio's signature jutsus.**

**Names****-**

**Izo- Means Iron. Once again an appropriate name for the character's well um character. Izo is a blacksmith and thus extremely muscular. He is a pretty big guy at 6 foot 4 or 193 cm. **

**Allright that's all for this time. Believe it or not this is only about a third of what I thought I would put in. Guess that means I just have the next couple of chapters planned out. R and R at your convenience.**

**Moose007 out.**


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